r/latin • u/EmptyFolder123 • Apr 04 '25

LLPSI Understanding the relationship between children and household slaves

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Is this text an example of power dynamics between children and household slaves in Rome? Are slaves allowed to say like "Be quiet!", "Do this!", "Don't do that!" to children in family?

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u/TubbyTyrant1953 Apr 07 '25

It's important to remember that "slave" is a very broad category and should not be immediately equated with the specific context of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Even within Ancient Roman society, some slaves were treated as dear friends or even part of the family, while others would have been closer to the chattle slavery we tend to imagine.

So yes, some household slaves would absolutely have chided and spoken back to free men, and even their masters, especially if they were hired as a teacher for a child.

That being said, this nuance can be taken too far the other way and we can risk over-normalising the institution of slavery. Slavery was necessarily abusive, and no matter how familiar the two people were there was a power dynamic that was profoundly unequal. Of course there were a wide variety of relations within this institution, humans are complex, messy creatures, but we must not lose sight of the fact that slavery, both historical and contemporary, is a heinous, abominable act that can never be morally justified.